PLENTY OF POWER

OK- here's my opinion. (Since it's our website, I get to mouth off as much as I want). Opinion: If a plane is nicely made and comes with enough power, 1200mm is one of those desirable wingspans. Why? It's big enough to see when it gets far away, and big enough to fly realistically and look GREAT in the sky. And it's small enough to fit in just about any car back seat. I can fit about 6 or 7 1200mm planes in the back of my RAV-4, which is not huge.

But I digress. Today, we're talking about the Flightline F8F Bearcat, the third of the Grumman "Cats". It conforms nicely to my size preferences, and is a kick butt nice job, too. And it's got PLENTY of power to handle the 15% extra weight of our SUPERMAX Crashproofing kit

The F8F “Bearcat” was Grumman’s last piston engine fighter. It got to the carriers too late to take part in any turkeyshoots. If it had arrived earlier, you would have been hearing about it for your whole life as a big part of the story of the defeat of Imperial Japan, because, compared with the previous 2 Grumman Cats, it was THAT good. It first flew in August 1944. Powered by the huge Wright Double Wasp engine, the Bearcat’s performance was simply scorching. Grumman didn't produce "many"- there were only 1200 built, in an era that saw some planes produced in the 10's of thousands (I think the Me-109 was the winner in that competition) I recently saw a video with an old gentleman who was one of the Blue Angels F8F pilots, who described the performance in rapturous terms- he definitely had that light in his eye. Well, this year the Blue Angels turn 70, and Flightline thinks that's long enough for us to wait for one of these Blue Angels F8F Bearcats. And this is the only RC Bearcat that is officially licensed by Northrop Grumman. Tell that to the cop.

This is a gorgeous 1/9 scale flying replica of the F8F-1 Bearcat. All you need is 4 other guys each flying one of these, and you're ready to perform some of those famous Blue Angel routines. Of course, you may need a little practice, so Killerplanes has our wonderful Patent Pending Crashproofing kit available as an upgrade. Our SUPERMAX reinforcement design increases the strength of the EPO foam airframe to nearly unbelievable levels- the wingtips are about 7 times stronger, the nose is an astonishing 15 times stronger against compression damage (meaning, the type of protection you need if the nose of your F8F comes in contact with, let's say, the 7000 mile diameter ball of rock you're standing on)

The manufacturer claims that, out of the box, this EPO foam F8F "assembles easily in minutes". I'm not sure what clock they use when making that claim. (Oh, look Bobby…the darn clock stopped again. How long did we work on that plane, ya think?) I've worked on over a thousand planes in the last 6 years, and I can't assemble one that fast. But you won't care when you check out the beautiful scale profile with many plastic detail parts such as spring-loaded inner gear doors, highly detailed cowl and radial engine, and removable cannon barrels. The 1200mm wingspan removable wing is easy to transport and strategic carbon reinforcements provide lightweight strength. (This would be an upgrade over the typical fiberglass struts the manufacturers use, and when you add our SUPERMAX reinforcement kit, you can hold the plane by the wingtip and shake it up and down. Don't try that with your other planes, though) The Bearcat’s magnetic hatch covers a large battery compartment that can also accommodate a flight stabilization gyro (sold separately), though I personally prefer planes that I can yank and bank. Cooling airflow is channeled over the battery and ESC compartment. Large flaps help stabilize the aircraft for very slow and controlled landings- perhaps you could add some Carrier "traps" onto your routine! (You could actually do those with the SUPERMAX reinforcement installed, actually. Without it you might pull the tail off if you try that…)

Scale power is provided by a 3748-580KV brushless motor with 4-blade scale propeller, which provides impressive vertical climbing power and 120kph/75mph level speed on a 4s battery. The Bearcat is optimized for satisfying scale performance and extended flight times of 6-7 minutes on a 2600mAh, or up to 8 minutes using the a 4s 4000mAh. Personally, I go for a 3300mAh 4s 35c for a nice, long, high-power flight. But if you want to go nuts, an optional High Performance Power System Set provides 147kph/87.5mph level speed and increased vertical performance. Of course, more speed equals less flight time, so keep that Ying and Yang balance in your throttle hand.

FlightLineRC’s F8F-1 Bearcat is a great high-performance plane for warbird pilots. Its landing gear stance is over 19" wide, and provides stable ground handling on grass. If you've done any ground loops in your Spitfire or P-40, you'll appreciate that. The generous power to weight ratio allows for any "combat acrobatic" maneuver you can imagine ("But can you hover it?" I don't know, Bobby. Let's try it with yours.), yet the Bearcat’s broad wings will give you a great stable, scale flight, for a nice relaxing flying experience. Until you miss the 4th cable and you're headed for the rest of your squadron up in front of you on the flight deck. Just kidding. But I'm serious about this: GET one of these with SUPERMAX Crashproofing. If you DO happen to miss all 4 arresting cables, you can chop up the squadron and come out like new!

The FlightLineRC F8F-1 Bearcat arrives completely painted in dark blue, with green gear wells. Included inside the box are two optional decal sets:

There is an optional two bladed propeller Sport Power System (sold separately) to achieve speeds up to 147kph/87.5mph. This Sport Power System includes: 3648-880kV motor, 12x8 2 blade propeller, and 2 bladed spinner. This Sport Power System is suitable for all 1100-1200mm wingspan warbirds from the FlightLineRC brand. Click the upgrades tab above for more info.